New speaker line-up for Marantz NR1710

[O Akroatís]

I don't know if combining the better entry-level speakers from various brands for LR + Centre + Atmos + Satellite/surround would be a good or better choice for the new composition.
There will also be no possibility of working with ceiling speakers. So it will have to be height speakers to be placed at the top of the wall, neighbouring front speakers.
My preferred speakers for the moment are Elac, Dali and Wharfedale.

 

[Golfx]

There has been debate whether it really matters to have all the same brand. Old myths on these forums say yes, other objective members say no. As a middle ground perhaps your Center is the most important for watching movies/tv with dialog and the LR most important for music. Matching those top 3 would seem like an OK idea. The surrounds carry less information as well as the heights/atmos. So these would have less reason to be the same brand or same quality as the LCR.

So using your above preferred speaker brands and Erin’s corner reviews lets see the cost of going with his favorite Wharfedale speaker https://www.crutchfield.com/p_700LNTNRM/Wharfedale-LINTON-Heritage-Red-Mahogany.html?tp=186. Then a suitable center https://www.crutchfield.com/p_336EVO4CBK/Wharfedale-EVO4-C-Black.html?tp=189 Now that puts you at $2600.00

If that fits your budget then you can spend less on surrounds and atmos by using smaller less expensive speakers from other brands or the same brand.

If you buy from a dealer that lets you return speakers free then you can try them out in your home for the best fit.

I would spend most of your budget on the best speakers you can afford. It is the speakers that you hear.

 

[peng]

Perhaps the Arendal's were also not the most suitable speakers with 4-ohm impedance for a Marantz NR 1710.

I think the Elacs are not much better than 4 ohms either and with sensitivity of 86 dB, the NR1710 will be adequate for near field and/or you don't listen very loud.

 

[O Akroatís]

There has been debate whether it really matters to have all the same brand. Old myths on these forums say yes, other objective members say no. As a middle ground perhaps your Center is the most important for watching movies/tv with dialog and the LR most important for music. Matching those top 3 would seem like an OK idea. The surrounds carry less information as well as the heights/atmos. So these would have less reason to be the same brand or same quality as the LCR.

So using your above preferred speaker brands and Erin’s corner reviews lets see the cost of going with his favorite Wharfedale speaker https://www.crutchfield.com/p_700LNTNRM/Wharfedale-LINTON-Heritage-Red-Mahogany.html?tp=186. Then a suitable center https://www.crutchfield.com/p_336EVO4CBK/Wharfedale-EVO4-C-Black.html?tp=189 Now that puts you at $2600.00

If that fits your budget then you can spend less on surrounds and atmos by using smaller less expensive speakers from other brands or the same brand.

If you buy from a dealer that lets you return speakers free then you can try them out in your home for the best fit.

I would spend most of your budget on the best speakers you can afford. It is the speakers that you hear.

Thank you very much for the above response. The Linton is too high for us. Also, its height at over 56cm is way too big for us. I definitely want to make a concession to replace the Monitor audio Bronze BR1 of 26cm with something around 35cm max. With speakers 40cm high, I already have a lot of trouble making them blend discreetly into the interior.
The Wharfedale EVO 4c could possibly still do here despite also being quite a height of 24.5cm but the price might still be justifiable.

 

[O Akroatís]

I think the Elacs are not much better than 4 ohms either and with sensitivity of 86 dB, the NR1710 will be adequate for near field and/or you don't listen very loud.

On Elac's site, they are listed as 6 ohms. I think we have to assume anyway that it is better to look at 6 or 8 ohm speakers rather than 4 ohms right?

 

[O Akroatís]

Nominated speakers set:

Front: Elac DBR62 / Dali Oberon 3 / Polk Signature Elite ES15 or R100 / Wharfedale Diamand 12.2
Center: Elac Debut reference DCR52 / Dali Oberon Grand Vokal / Polk Elite ES35 / Wharfedale Diamand 12.C
Atmos: Elac Debut 2.0
Satellite: SVS Prime Satellite / Dali Spektor 1 or Oberon 1 / Polk Signature Elite ES10 / Wharfedale DX-3 or Crystal 4.1
Sub-woofer: MJ Acoustics Pro 50 MKII > (III) = owned

A brand of speaker set or a mix of speakers...?
I would like to decide before Black Friday so that we can maybe get some bargains.

 

[peng]

On Elac's site, they are listed as 6 ohms. I think we have to assume anyway that it is better to look at 6 or 8 ohm speakers rather than 4 ohms right?

I saw the curve, it did look like 6 ohm nominal is fair, minimum would be around 5 ohm, that's quite good for an Elac bookself speaker. To size an amp for them, you should use an online calculator. Your need would depend a lot on your distance and maximum spl you desire.

 

[peng]

Nominated speakers set:

Front: Elac DBR62 / Dali Oberon 3 / Polk Signature Elite ES15 or R100 / Wharfedale Diamand 12.2
Center: Elac Debut reference DCR52 / Dali Oberon Grand Vokal / Polk Elite ES35 / Wharfedale Diamand 12.C
Atmos: Elac Debut 2.0
Satellite: SVS Prime Satellite / Dali Spektor 1 or Oberon 1 / Polk Signature Elite ES10 / Wharfedale DX-3 or Crystal 4.1
Sub-woofer: MJ Acoustics Pro 50 MKII > (III) = owned

A brand of speaker set or a mix of speakers...?
I would like to decide before Black Friday so that we can maybe get some bargains.

The left, right should be matched, preferably the center as well.

 

[Golfx]

Nominated speakers set:

Front: Elac DBR62 / Dali Oberon 3 / Polk Signature Elite ES15 or R100 / Wharfedale Diamand 12.2
Center: Elac Debut reference DCR52 / Dali Oberon Grand Vokal / Polk Elite ES35 / Wharfedale Diamand 12.C
Atmos: Elac Debut 2.0
Satellite: SVS Prime Satellite / Dali Spektor 1 or Oberon 1 / Polk Signature Elite ES10 / Wharfedale DX-3 or Crystal 4.1
Sub-woofer: MJ Acoustics Pro 50 MKII > (III) = owned

A brand of speaker set or a mix of speakers...?
I would like to decide before Black Friday so that we can maybe get some bargains.

Hi. Your choice of LR from ELAC received very favorable review on this website. The
ELAC center will likely go well to.

I am confused about your choice of naming though. When you said Atmos to be the ELAC debut 2.0 did you mean Atmos (what we consider overhead speakers) or what we would traditionally consider “Surrounds” and “Rear Surrounds” for the bed layer in a 7.1.4 system you are building?

 

[O Akroatís]

Hi. Your choice of LR from ELAC received very favorable review on this website. The
ELAC center will likely go well to.

I am confused about your choice of naming though. When you said Atmos to be the ELAC debut 2.0 did you mean Atmos (what we consider overhead speakers) or what we would traditionally consider “Surrounds” and “Rear Surrounds” for the bed layer in a 7.1.4 system you are building?

Thanks for your respons. The current 5.1 will be expanded to a 5.1.2. Built-in ceiling speakers will not be possible, so they will have to be height speakers. These will be placed above the front speakers on the wall just below the ceiling or sideways on the wall just in front of the listening position.
It is about the ELAC Debut 2.0 Dolby Atmos Module Speakers – DA42

 

[Golfx]

Thanks for your respons. The current 5.1 will be expanded to a 5.1.2. Built-in ceiling speakers will not be possible, so they will have to be height speakers. These will be placed above the front speakers on the wall just below the ceiling or sideways on the wall just in front of the listening position.
It is about the ELAC Debut 2.0 Dolby Atmos Module Speakers – DA42

Aha, so your choice of satellite is actually your surrounds=#s 4 & 5 in your 5.1.2? Are they to be ear level or mounted up on the wall?

 

[O Akroatís]

Aha, so your choice of satellite is actually your surrounds=#s 4 & 5 in your 5.1.2? Are they to be ear level or mounted up on the wall?

Indeed, the satellites are now the surrounds, wall mounted on ear level, little bit behind us.

 

[Golfx]

Indeed, the satellites are now the surrounds, wall mounted on ear level, little bit behind us.

I had the SVS Prime Elevations for 3 years. On the pro side they have a wide dispersion which is good for wall mounted surrounds. On the con side I found them brighter than my Polk legends and my Perlistens. That said they have a lot of positive reviews and even a few with measurements.

 

[O Akroatís]

I had the SVS Prime Elevations for 3 years. On the pro side they have a wide dispersion which is good for wall mounted surrounds. On the con side I found them brighter than my Polk legends and my Perlistens. That said they have a lot of positive reviews and even a few with measurements.

Yes, I have read it for the SVS Elevations . Apparently they are good, but they are large speakers to hang discreetly just below the ceiling.

What is also a problem for me, is finding small "good" speakers. My current satellite/surround speakers from MA are 19cm high and two-way. We're looking for something similar. Outside of Wharfedale, which has 2 different ones of around 19 cm, only Polk still has the Elite ES10.

 

[Golfx]

Yes, I have read it for the SVS Elevations . Apparently they are good, but they are large speakers to hang discreetly just below the ceiling.

What is also a problem for me, is finding small "good" speakers. My current satellite/surround speakers from MA are 19cm high and two-way. We're looking for something similar. Outside of Wharfedale, which has 2 different ones of around 19 cm, only Polk still has the Elite ES10.

Paradigm MilleniaOne 1.0 (Gloss Black)

Satellite speaker

www.crutchfield.com

this is very well rated. I almost bought this for myself

You could also use it for your atmos position as well—considering its small size and mounting options.

 

[O Akroatís]

So we have definitively adjusted our selection to these 4 speaker sets for a new 5.1.2 set.

Set 1 may be the best in quality, but is also the most expensive of the four. Too bad Elac doesn't have good small (rear) satellite speakers. I'm also a bit concerned about the apparently questionable quality of the vinyl around the casing.
Speaker set 1
Front: Elac UBR62
Center: Elac UCR52
Dolby Atmos: Elac Debut 2.0 DA42
Satellite: Dali Spektor 1
Sub-woofer: MJ Acoustics 50Pro MKIII
Marantz NR1710

Set 2, for me the most beautiful set, where I especially like the center and (rear) satellite speakers.
Speaker set 2
Front: Polk Elite ES15
Center: Polk Elite ES35
Dolby Atmos: Elac Debut 2.0 DA42
Satellite: Polk Signature Elite ES10
Sub-woofer: MJ Acoustics 50Pro MKIII
Marantz NR1710

Set 3, perhaps the most homogeneous composition with a real wood veneer housing. This set is also the cheapest composition.
Speaker set 3
Front: Wharfedale Diamand 12.1
Center: Wharfedale Diamand 12.C
Dolby Atmos: Wharfedale Diamond 12.3D
Satellite: Wharfedale Diamand 12.0
Sub-woofer: MJ Acoustics 50Pro MKIII
Marantz NR1710

Set 4, along with the Polk's, is one of my favorites. I could possibly replace the Dolby Atmos speaker with their own Dali Alteco C-1
Speaker set 4
Front: Dali Spektor 2
Center: Dali Oberon (Grand) Vocal
Dolby Atmos: Elac Debut 2.0 DA42
Satellite: Dali Spektor 1
Sub-woofer: MJ Acoustics 50Pro MKIII
Marantz NR1710

 

[Golfx]

And now it is down you just your decision preferences.

 

[O Akroatís]

And now it is down you just your decision preferences.

Very very difficult!

 

[peng]

Does the Elac measured the best? If they do, then it is a matter of sound quality vs aesthetics, assuming the 1710 offers enough juice for your listening habit.

 

[O Akroatís]

Does the Elac measured the best? If they do, then it is a matter of sound quality vs aesthetics, assuming the 1710 offers enough juice for your listening habit.

Well, the Elac really do come out well and not just reviewed here on the forum by Erin. Not only are they the most expensive of all the sets but they are also the highest with their 14.13" and there already comes the first problem. Indeed, the second problem could be that the NR1710 does not have enough power to drive these Elacs decently.
My current MA Bronze BR1 is only 10.43" tall.
We also want to keep it a bit discreet for the missus in the new house.